Login / Signup

Molecular engineering of Rashba spin-charge converter.

Hiroyasu NakayamaTakashi YamamotoHongyu AnKento TsudaYasuaki EinagaKazuya Ando
Published in: Science advances (2018)
In heterostructures with broken inversion symmetry, the electrons' motion is coupled to their spin through interface-driven spin-orbit coupling: the Rashba effect. The Rashba effect enables the interconversion between spin and charge currents, offering a variety of novel spintronic phenomena and functionalities. However, despite the significant progress in Rashba physics, controlling the spin-charge conversion in metallic heterostructures remains a major challenge. We show that molecular self-assembly provides a way to engineer the Rashba spin-charge converters. We demonstrate that magnetoresistance and voltage generation originating from the spin-charge conversion in metallic heterostructures can be manipulated by decorating the surface with self-assembled organic monolayers through the cooperative molecular field effect. We also demonstrate reversible phototuning of the spin-charge conversion through light-driven molecular transformations using a molecule that can photoisomerize between the trans and cis states. These findings, with the almost-infinite chemical tunability of organic monolayers, pave the way toward molecular engineering of spin-orbit devices.
Keyphrases
  • room temperature
  • single molecule
  • density functional theory
  • ionic liquid
  • transition metal
  • solar cells
  • molecular dynamics
  • magnetic resonance imaging
  • magnetic resonance
  • contrast enhanced